A spark of hope
by FFA Member
Summary: When an unconscious thirteen-year-old wakes up at the Chicago Med with amnesia, Connor takes it upon himself to care for the child. Story will contain mention of abuse and spanking of a child in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm playing around with the idea of Connor Rhodes adopting a daughter. This story will contain mention of abuse, spanking of a child and strong language. **

* * *

Thump, thump, thump. The sound of a young child's heart pounded as she raced through the woods, trying to get away from her chasers. Thump, thump, thump. Her pounding heart made it near impossible to breathe. Her legs felt like they were on fire, her feet stung like a million bees. She wanted nothing more than to just stop and hide. The fear that rushed through her prevented her from stopping.

"RIGHT THERE, GET HER!" A rough voice shouted from behind her. She glanced back at her chasers when she glanced back around, she found herself gaining on the edge of a cliff. She tried to stop in time, but her legs refused to listen, they ran her off the cliff. She didn't know how long she'd fallen before she hit a rushing river.

She tried to keep her head above the water, but try as she might, she kept getting pulled under. Last thing she saw before total darkness was a large rock that the mad river tried to throw her against.

* * *

"Do you think she's alive?" A concerned voice asked.

"I don't know, Issac." A rough hand poked the girl in the ribs, he smiled when the girl give a low groan. "I say she's still alive. Call 911, tell them to get out here now!"

"Will do, Richard." Issac pulled out his phone, then quickly punched in the number. "Yes, I need an ambulance out at the Starved Rock State Park. We have a girl here who washed up on the shore, she's unconscious." Issac said, frantically. "I'm not sure how old she is... My guess would maybe be thirteen... I don't know where she came from. We were out white water rafting and saw her on the shore. We need an ambulance now!" After giving the last few details to the dispatcher, he shoved his cell phone back into his pocket, then leaned down next to Richard.

"She's hypothermic if we don't get help here soon, I'm worried she won't make it," Richard whispered.

* * *

"You look like crap," Ethan joked when Connor walked into the doctor's lounge. His eyes scanned Connor, the man looked like he hadn't gotten any sleep in several days; Which wasn't uncommon for them.

"I pulled a double shift," Connor mumbled.

"You should take a short nap," Natalie glanced up from her baby book.

"Hey, guys!" Will shoved his way into the lounge. "Did you guys hear about that girl who was found a couple of days ago?"

Connor shook his head, "the only news I've gotten the past few days is, this patient threw up. This patient is complaining about a hurt knee, this patient is complaining about the noise." He scruffed.

"There was a girl who was found washed up in the Starved Rock State Park," Will explained.

"Wait, what do you mean, washed up?" Natalie's eyes filled with concern.

"A couple who were white water rafting came across a body laying on the shore. At first, they thought it was a log, then realized it was a child. They think she's around thirteen." Will glanced over at his crush, she looked like she was about to be sick.

"That poor child," Natalie laid her hand on her belly bump. "I couldn't imagine what her parents must be going through."

"That's just the thing," Will went on, excitedly. "They have no idea who her parents are. The child is still unconscious, so they can't ask her. The police checked missing child reports, but none were made. The park rangers went around talking to families, but no one has claimed her. The police think that she's a runaway who could have been from an abusive home. Or maybe even a foster child."

"If she was from an abusive home, she's going to have a hard time when she wakes up," Connor replied, a hint of sadness filled his voice.

"What's even better is, she's coming here! They decided to transport her here until she gets..." Will's voice trailed off, at the sound of Connor's pager started going off.

"Looks like that child is already here," Connor shoved his pager back into his pocket then rushed out of the lounge. Two paramedics pushed a gurney into the hospital, there laid a small child. A child who was no way thirteen years old, she had to have been younger than that.

"We had that same look on our face, Dr. Rhodes. She's extremely malnourished, which caused her body not to develop as a thirteen-year-old child should be." The paramedic replied.

"Put her in there," Maggie called, as she pointed to an empty room.

"What's her BP?" Connor asked, with Natalie following closely behind.

"Her BP is 90 over 60." He turned his attention to the child, "on the count of three." He waited until everyone was ready to transfer the child to the bed. "One, two, three." They gently lifted her up, then placed the fragile body on the bed.

Connor brushed the blond hair behind the girl's ear, "how much does she weigh?"

"She weighs 60 pounds," the paramedic sighed.

"A girl her age should be around 76 and 148 pounds," Will said, as he stood beside the others.

"The other hospital made her stable, they are just waiting for her to wake up." With one last look, the paramedic rolled his gurney away, leaving Connor, Will, Natalie, and Maggie in the room staring at the child.

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: This chapter will hint towards abuse from the past. **

**Also, for some reason, reviews aren't being posted to my fanfics. They show up in my email, but not on the site. I'm hoping to figure out why this is here in the next few days.**

* * *

Connor leaned against his chair, watching the steady rise and fall of the unconscious child. Something drew him to this child, something that he couldn't explain. Maybe it was his rough past trying to protect an innocent soul.

"Hey," a voice brought Connor out of his thoughts.

"Hey Ethan," Connor stood up, rubbing away the sleep from his eyes.

"It's been four days man, you should take a break. You haven't even gone home since the child was brought in." The Child was what the staff started calling the kid. Saying, Jane Doe just didn't fit a lost girl. "If you want, I can watch over her while you go home and get yourself cleaned up," Ethan said, softly.

"What if she wakes up? She'll be terrified, she may even try to make a run for it." Connor glanced over the child again, her face had been badly cut from the rocks. Her right arm was in a cast due to a broken arm. "How did she make it through the river without more injuries?"

"She's lucky," Ethan put a hand on the bed. "Sh..." His voice trailed off, by a low groan coming from the child. "Did you hear that? Or was that me?"

"I heard it too," Connor shot to his feet.

"Sa...sha," the child mumbled, weakly.

"It's okay," Connor said, softly. "I'm Dr. Rhodes, can you hear me?"

"Wh...what..." Her eyelids flew open, showing off her crystal blue eyes.

Connor gave a small smile to Ethen, then turned his attention back to the girl. "You're at Chicago Med, do you remember what happened?"

"My head," she groaned in pain.

"I see The Child is awake," Will said, walking into the room.

"We've been waiting a while to see those pretty eyes," April said, kindly.

The girl's eyes darted wildly at the room full of strangers. "Pl...please..." She stumbled over her words.

"Hey, it's okay," Connor's voice was soft. "You're safe in the hospital."

"NOOOOOOOOO!" The girl let out a blood-curdling scream, causing Ethan and Connor to jump back in surprise.

"What's going on?" Natalie asked, running into the room followed by Daniel.

"GET AWAY!" The girl reached for her IV's, trying to rip them out of her arm.

"April, 2 CC's of Ativan," Connor ordered. "Kid, it's okay. No one is going to hurt you." He said, trying to hold the girl's arms down, to prevent her from hurting herself.

"Meds in," April noted. The staff held their breaths, waiting for the meds to take effect. Once the girl's tensed muscles loosened, it was like a weight was lifted.

"I think we should let her sleep," Will whispered. The child's eyes closed, sending her into a dreamless sleep.

"I want to stay," Connor said, stubbornly.

"You need to get some sleep, you haven't had a day off since before she came in here," Ethan stated, giving his friend a pointed look. "It might be better if she wakes up without the stress of having others around."

"Having at least one person in here may do her good. However," Charles held his hand up, preventing Connor from saying anything. "It might be better for one of our ladies to stay in here, rather a guy. We don't know what she went through, most likely it was a guy that hurt her. Connor, you said her body is filled with scars?"

"Yes, she has scars on 70% of her body. Some looks like cuts from a sharp object, she has burn scars, and a couple of scars that no one can figure out what caused them." Connor shook his head, "how could anyone do this to a child?"

"Whoever did this deserves to rot in hell," Will's voice dripped with anger.

Charles nodded his head, all of them felt the same hatred for whoever laid their hand on an innocent child. "Natalie why don't you stay with The Child for while until she settles down. I have a feeling she's going to be waking up again here in a few hours."

Natalie glanced over at Connor, "I'll keep an eye on her. If anything happens, I'll text you."

Connor's eyes glanced over at the sleeping child. Her chest slowly rose and fell in a peaceful rhythm. "If anything happens, please let me know." With one last glance, Connor reluctantly left the room followed by the others.

* * *

Frightening images flashed like lightning through the girl's dreams. No matter how hard she fought, she couldn't get herself to get out of the dark foggy field; it was as if her bare feet were glued to the grass. She tried to let out a scream when something flew at her, but no sound came out. "HELP ME!" She tried to shout but nothing. Heavy gray foggy floated around her, carrying an eerie sound of something or someone crying.

A whooshing sound shot past her, followed by severe pain on her left arm. Blood raced down her arm, pooling around the girl's feet. The girl stared at the ground in shock, she was standing in a puddle of sticky blood. "HEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLP!" She screamed again, tears fell down her face; no one was going to help.

"Brat," a voice drifted through the fog.

"Ungrateful." Another voice shouted out.

"Freak, just another useless freak."

"SHUT UP, SHUT UP, shut up..." The girl fell to her knees, sobbing. "Please, don't hurt me. Please don't hurt me."

"Freaks like you deserve to be beaten."

"I've raised you ever since your good for nothing mother died." The voice boomed throughout the foggy field, followed by the sound of breaking glass.

"Wake up," a soft voice broke through the fog. "It's okay, wake up. No one is going to hurt you, just open your eyes. You're safe now, you're safe."

"Where are you?" The girl called out.

"I'm all around you, I'm with you. I'll keep you safe on your journey." The voice replied, "just open your eyes, everything is going to be okay now. You're in a safe place, no one will ever hurt you again."

* * *

The girl slowly opened her eyes, the bright light burned her eyes, causing her to shut them again.

"Mrs. Raccoon took Chester by the hand and nuzzled him on the ear." Natalie read aloud to her unborn child and to the one who laid beaten and broken. "Sometimes we all have to do things we don't want to do, she told him gently. Even if they seem strange and scary at first. But you will love school once you start." Natalie paused a second, then continued to read. **"**Mommy loves you. Mommy loves you."

The girl opened her eyes again, it was the same voice she heard when she was in the field. "Mom?"

"Hey sweetheart," Natalie moved to stand next to the girl's bed. "You're in the hospital," she said, softly.

The girl blinked at the lady as if she didn't register what Natalie had said.

"W...Why am I here?" The girl's voice was choppy, she hadn't used her voice in a while.

"You went through some white water and hurt yourself. You were taken to another hospital, once they had you stable they sent you here." Natalie explained.

"I'm safe," the girl gave a small smile.

"Yes, you're in a safe place now. No one is going to hurt you..."Natalie's voice trailed off, by the sound of the room door opening. To her dismay, Connor walked into the room. _What is that idiot thinking?!_ She thought to herself.

"I'm glad to see you awake," Connor slowly made his way to the bed. "I was worried you wouldn't wake up." His voice was filled with concern.

The girl stared at him, confused. "Do...Do I know you?" She asked, shyly.

"No, not really." Connor chuckled. "I'm Dr. Connor Rhodes, I've been taking care of you since you came to this hospital." He glanced over at Natalie, then back to the child. "What's your name?"

"My name?" The girl searched her brain, trying to remember what her name was. _Who am I?_ She thought to herself. _Why can't I remember anything?_ Tears of frustration streamed down her face. No matter how hard she thought, she couldn't remember anything.

"Hey, hey, hey. You don't need to cry." Connor sat on the edge of her bed, " I didn't mean to upset you."

The child shook her head, "I don't know." She whispered, "I don't know who I am. I don't remember anything," she sobbed.

Without thinking what he was doing, he pulled the child into a hug. He could feel the child tense in her arms. "It's okay," his voice was warm with kindness. "It will come to you, eventually."

"M' sorry, m' sorry." The girl clung tightly to his scrubs.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," Connor rubbed soothing circles on the child's back.

"Freaks aren't allowed to cry." She mumbled.

Connor stared wide-eyed at Natalie, hoping he misheard what the child had said. From the look on the ladies face confirmed his fears. "Who said you were a freak?"

"I don't...remember," she said between a yawn. She laid her head against Connor's chest, taking in his sweet calming scent. "Lexa...My name is.. Lexa."

"Lexa, that's a pretty name." Connor glanced down at Lexa, then over to Natalie. "I think she's asleep," he mouthed, not wanting to wake her up. He carefully put the girl back on the bed, then tucked her in. He didn't know why, but something deep down was stirred. Making a silent vow, he promised he'd protect the child, no matter what.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I hope you guys like this next chapter. All mistakes are mine, I haven't found a beta yet.**

** Blondie2000: Thank you for your comment. You are correct, Lexa did come from an abusive background, and yes, she was trying to escape. **

Lexa glanced around the small room that the doctors had put her in. It was the same four walls she'd been looking at the past few weeks. If boredom could kill, she knew she'd been dead a long time ago. The only thing that kept her going was the stories that the staff told about the patients. She liked to try and figure out what was wrong with the patients and try to guess the treatments that they needed. Her brain turned like a wheel when Will told her about the patients that'd come in the past few days who were treated with chemo but never had cancer. The only thing she could come up with is that the doctor who treated them got their files wrong.

Lexa's eyes landed on her arm, they just did surgery on it last week. Now it was stiffly wrapped up in an itchy groaned _I hate being in one spot._ She thought to herself. Connor and Natalie gave her a few books to read, but that only kept her mind active for a few hours. She glanced down at her arm again, trying to remember how she'd broken her arm. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember anything. There were times when she'd have nightmares about a group of yelling guys. She shuddered at the thought, that wasn't a dream she liked to remember

With one more glance at her arm, she threw back the blankets on the bed. Dr. Halstead let her walk around once since she came to the hospital, it was only a short walk down the hall and back. That walk felt like she'd just did a marathon. "I can do this," she muttered to herself. With a deep breath, she slowly slid off the bed. Her head pounded with the sudden motion, even with the meds, it didn't fully take away the pain from the concussion. Once she was sure her legs weren't going to give out, she made her way to the door. Lexa nervously opened the door, to her surprise the hallway was empty.

"Just a for a few minutes," she mumbled as she made her way out of the room. Her heart pounded with each step she took, as a surge of adrenaline rushed through her. Dr. Manning warned her not to leave the room on her own. It was something to do with pain or injuries not healed all the way. Lexa quit listening halfway through the older ladies lecture. "She just has baby brain," she chuckled to herself. "I'll be fine, it's not like I'm going very far," she said, trying to convince herself.

Her eyes scanned the names on the paperwork outside each patients door. "Trinity, Alisa, Crowley, Shadow." Lexa's read off, "at least I'm not really alone." She turned down another hallway, which split off into a T. She turned down the left hallway, she didn't know where she was going, but it felt nice to finally be out of that room.

* * *

Connor sat next to Natalie and Daniel, each of them wore the same pissed off expression. They'd been called into Sharon's office for a meeting, they assumed it had to do with the cancer case that they were dealing with. To their dismay, that wasn't the case. When the trio made their way into the office, their face dropped at the sight the social worker.

"You can't just put her in a home," Natalie cried out, not caring about her quivering voice.

"No one has come forth about a missing child. We suspected that she was part of the human traffic operation, she isn't in the system, we haven't had anyone report a child that resembles her. With the child not having any memory of her past, the only option we have is for her to go to a group home."

"We have no idea what she's been through, what we do know is that she's been abused," Daniel said in a calm voice. "Sending her to a group home would only set back her healing. She needs to be in a home where she's the only child. She needs one on one attention with someone who can give her what she needs."

"A group home is the only option," the social worker argued. "She doesn't remember her past, which won't be a problem with her settling into a new place. She will adjust well with a steady routine, which a group home will give her."

"Yeah, and who will be there if she has a nightmare?" Connor's voice was laced with anger. "She wakes up screaming every time she tries to fall asleep. The adults in a group home wouldn't be able to be there with her 24/7."

"The nightmares will go away," the social worker replied. "Once she gets used to her new place, she'll be fine."

"What if someone was to foster to adopt?" Natalie suggested, her eyes wandered over to where Connor was sitting.

"If we were able to find someone to do that, then we could." The social worker ran her hand through her thick black hair. "However, families don't want a problemed older child. They want young kids... mostly babies," she said with a sigh.

"I know of someone who would be perfect to care for the child," Natalie said, with a small smile. "He's a great guy with a decent job. I've never been to his place, but I hear it's nice." She caught Daniel's eye, who smiled back.

"Ah yes, that guy would be perfect," Daniel said with a soft chuckle. "We wouldn't have to worry about the child not being able to be cared for. I know he has good friends who'd be willing to help out, too."

Connor shot the two a death glare. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, they were talking about sending the child away as if she was nothing.

"You'd have to contact him. He needs to fill out paperwork, so we can get approved. Then we'd need to do a home check plus a background check."

"I don't think he'd have much of a problem passing a background check." Daniel's eyes sparkled when we spoke.

"And just who is this person you're just pawning the child off to?" Connor demanded.

"I thought it would be obvious," Sharon finally pipped up, trying to stifle a laugh.

"Obviously it's not," he snapped back.

"It's you!" Natalie threw back her head, laughing.

"Me? But..I..I." Connor stumbled over his words, unsure of what to say.

"Won't he be too busy?" The Social worker asked.

"Not if you look at it like this," Daniel paused a second, then continued. "Lexa would go to school at seven in the morning, which is just right before Connor has to come into work. He could drop her off at school on the way in. Then, when she gets out of school, she could come here until Connor gets done working."

"Yeah, and where would she stay? A hospital isn't the place for a child." The Social worker challenged.

"She could hang out in the lounge working on homework. I know the others would be more than happy to help her between their patients." Daniel explained.

The social worker sat there, glancing between the four of them. "Before I say yes, I'd like to talk to the child."

Sharon nodded, "if you'd follow us, we'll take you to her." She walked over to the door, holding it open for them.

With Connor in the lead, Natalie standing shoulder to shoulder with Daniel on one side and Sharon on the other, they led the social worker to the room.

"How did her surgery go?" The social worker asked.

"It was a complicated surgery, but we were able to get the bones back in place." Connor glanced over to his shoulder, the social worker scribbled notes down in her folder. "Here's her room," he said, as he opened the door. "Lexa, this is..." His voice trailed off, "she's...she's gone."

"Of course she is," the social worker muttered under her breath.

"Maybe one of the other doctors took her for a little walk," Natalie's voice sounded almost hopeful.

"What's everyone looking at?" Will asked, making his way over to the small group.

"Is Lexa with you?" Natalie's voice lowered a bit.

"No, I was coming to get her to see if she wanted to go for a short walk." He glanced around the group, his mouth opened in surprise. "She was here an hour ago."

"Not like it's the first time you lost a child." The social worker said, bitterly.

"What does THAT mean!" Connor snapped, causing Will to take a step back.

"I just mean, you already lost a runaway, now this child vanishes." The social worked scuffed

"She can't be far, she could just be walking around," Natalie suggested.

"Will, Connor why don't you two go down the hall. Daniel and I can go down the other hall to see if she went down that way. Natalie, could you..." Shanon's voice trailed off, at the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Uh...I." Lexa mumbled, feebly. She'd hoped she could have made it back to her room before anyone showed up, she wasn't expecting to get lost.

"Where have you been," Connor asked, sternly.

"Well..I..uh...i.." Lexa's eyes met her shoes, finding them to be more interesting.

Connor put his fingers under her chin, gently lifting her head up. "There we go, I prefer not to talk to your head." He said with a gentle smile. "Now, would you like to tell me where you went," he asked, softly.

"I just went for a small walk...I got bored." Lexa mumbled under her breath.

Connor nodded, "a short walk it more than just a short walk. When we didn't see you in here we got worried. We didn't know where you were, or if you were okay. If something happened we wouldn't know where to find you," He explained.

"I'm sorry," Lexa whispered.

Connor laid his arm over the girl's shoulders, "come on, let's get you back to bed." He slowly led her over to the bed. "Next time you want to go for a walk, just ask."

"Yes sir," she replied. "I just don't like being cooped up all the time." Lexa climbed back onto the bed, pulling the covers over herself.

"You won't be here much longer. The social services have to do some paperwork, but they think they might have found a place for you to stay." Connor squeezed her shoulder, reassuringly.

"But, I don't wanna go." Tears filled her eyes, threatening to spill out any second. "I want to stay here... What if they don't like me? What if they hurt me? What if... what if the people from before find me?"

"Hey, hey, hey." Natalie rushed over to the girl's side. "No one is ever going to hurt you, I promise you that." She glanced over at the social worker, who gave a nod of approval. "We just need to work out a few small details. Once we get things figured out, you'll be staying with Connor."

Lexa stared at them wide-eyed, not believing what she was hearing.

"If Connor passes the home inspection, he'll need to fill out a bit of paperwork." The social worker said, walking over to the bed. "If he gets approved, would you want to live with him?"

"Y...yes." Tears raced down her face, "I don't know what to say."

"Yes is all I needed," Connor pulled her into a gentle hug. "Everything is going to be okay."


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: This chapter does contain some violence.**

Connor walked into Med with Lexa following closely behind. The past few weeks had been great, he'd been able to adopt the child, she'd been in rolled in school, and she hadn't even had one nightmare! "So, where do you want to get lunch today?" He asked, giving her a sideways glance.

"CHINESE!" She said, excitedly. Since it was Saturday, she was able to spend the entire day with Connor. Nothing could ruin a day like this.

"Chinese sounds good," he said with a laugh. He led Lexa over to the lounge, "go ahead n' start working on your homework. If you get bored you can walk around or see if one of the nurses need help." Without waiting for a reply, he left the room. Right when he shut the door, a small group of men dressed in all black rushed into med. One of the guys started waving around a gun, shouting for everyone to get down. He gave Lexa a worried glance, then mouthed "hide." Before he could turn back around one of the gunmen hit him in the stomach, causing him to crash to the floor.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the perfect little doctor," the masked man laughed. "The doctor who can't even save a life," he kicked Connor again. A large smile spread across his face when a painful groan escaped Connor's lips. The masked man glanced around the room, everyone was on their knees staring fearfully at Connor. "Everyone seems so scared for our little prince. Yes, so, so scared." He threw back his head, letting out a cruel laugh.

"Le...Lexa." Connor groaned, hoping the child was hiding.

"SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!" The guy screamed, landing several more kicks to Connor's ribs. "Does it hurt? Huh?" He said with a laugh. "Does it hurt to breathe, pretty sure I heard a snap of your ribs." The masked man pointed his gun at Connor's head, then pulled the trigger.

"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!" Lexa screamed at the top of her lungs. "NOOOOOOOOOO, DAAAAAAAAAAAD."

"Lexa," a voice floated around her. "Lexa, open your eyes. Come on Lexa, it's okay, just open your eyes." The voice was filled with concern.

Lexa's eyes flew open, she glanced around the room wildly, as tears raced down her face. "They killed you, they killed you, they killed you." She sobbed her breath quickened, nearing a panic attack.

"It's okay, it's just a bad dream." Connor sat next to her, pulling her into a hug. Connor looked over her head, to where Will and April ran into the little hospital room. "Bad dream," he mouthed. He gave them a pleading look, trying to get them to leave. An audience was not something he wanted Lexa to have. After the two left he turned his attention back to Lexa. Lexa's face was buried on his scrubs, her eyes were shut tight, somehow she'd already fallen back to sleep. With a relieved sigh he laid her back down on the bed then left. He glanced at the clock, it was only five in the morning. "Just a few more hours of sleep," he muttered to himself. "Just a few more, then we can get you out of here."

* * *

Lexa sat nervously on her hospital bed, today wasn't the sort of day she'd expected. After she'd reawoken from her nap, Connor told her that morning that the two would head to court around lunch time. However, things didn't go as planned. She'd only been able to pick up bits and pieces from those who walked by, from what she could make out, Dr. Manning was in labor. There was also talk about someone named Sarah Reese who had to take care of a boy who had some sort of illness.

"Are you ready?" Lexa's head shot up at the sound of Connor's voice. "Sorry it's taken me so long to get you. We've been pretty busy with patients." Connor glanced down at his phone, he couldn't help but sigh at the text message. It was yet another message from his sister, asking if he was going to the thing tonight for their father's million dollar donation for the hospital. He fought back the emotions that threatened to show itself on his face. Today wasn't a good day for him, he shook his head, ridding him of those thoughts. "Maggie bought you a couple pairs of clothes. You can change into them before we go to court."

Lexa's eyes landed on the Walmart bag that he held. She nervously licked her dry lips, "what if they decide I can't stay with you? What if they take me back there?" Her breath quickened, a few tears escaped her eyes.

Connor dropped the bag, then grabbed the child into a hug. "It's okay, no one is going to take you away." He said, rubbing comforting circles on her back. "You don't have to worry about going to the people from your past." He gently pushed down on her shoulders, making her sit on the bed. "Have you had any other nightmares?"

Lexa glanced away from his worried eyes, not wanting to talk about the nightmares. Ever since Connor walked in on her having a nightmare a few weeks ago, he'd been trying to get her to talk Dr. Charles. However, something deep down prevented her from talking. She wasn't sure if it was the sheer fear that the nightmares could be real or the fear that they'd think she was weak. She took an uneven breath, "no sir," she muttered. "I haven't had the nightmares in a while... Well, except for this morning." She could feel her face heat up from the lie.

"Lexa," Connor's voice was stern but soft. "I know you don't like talking about it, but I appreciate it if you don't lie to me." He brushed a couple of loose strands of blond hair away from the girls face. He grabbed a chair, pulling it over to the bed, sitting down. "If you want to talk, I'm here to listen." He said, softly. "I won't force you to talk, however, the social worker may try to get you to talk about it. Dr. Charles thought it would be easier if you and I talked about it before leaving for the meeting."

Lexa fought back that tears that threatened to spill. "I'm always standing in this foggy meadow," she whispered. "The ground is covered in bright red blood, I think it's my blood..." Her voice trailed off, saying it out loud made it seem like it was real. "I'm wearing this white dress, it too is covered in blood. I hear someone yelling... He..he..." Tears raced down her face, only to be wiped away by Connor. "The guy calls me bad names...Saying I'm a worthless freak...saying...saying I...I... I killed my mother." She buried her face into Connor's chest, letting out a sob.

"It's okay," his voice was surprisingly calm; on the inside, he seethed with anger. "Lexa," he gently leaned the child up. "I'm glad you told me. I don't know what happened in the past, but I know that you're not worthless or a freak. I also know that you didn't kill your mother." He paused a second, allowing the words to sink in. "Why don't you get changed up and I'll grab you some lunch from the cafeteria, then we can head out." He landed a soft kiss on her forehead before heading out.

With one last glance, Connor made his way to the cafeteria. Thoughts of his mother's passing, his father's donation, his longing sister and poor Lexa weaved its way through his head.

"How is she doing?" Will asked, walking over to where Connor was at.

"What? Huh?" Connor's head snapped up, his eyes glanced around, taking in his surroundings. He'd made it to the cafeteria, and had grabbed a yogurt and sandwich. _That's what I get for being __Absentmindedly, _he thought to himself. "She's calmed down a bit," Connor's replied. "But is still shaken up. I've never seen anyone have such intense nightmares before." Connor's voice made him sound small.

"It's going to take her a while before those go away." He glanced at the yogurt and sandwich. "Are you eating that or is she?" He asked with a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.

"It's breakfast for her, she can eat it on the way to our meeting. I planned to take her over to the apartment and get her settled in, but with the nightmare from this morning, I wanted to let her sleep in a little bit."

"You're having her go to court in a hospital gown?" Will gave Connor a mock glare.

"Nah," Connor said with a chuckle. "Maggie bought her a couple pairs of clothes, she's changing while I'll I grab some food." Connor turned to leave but stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I wanted to say sorry for how I've acted towards you..." Will's voice trailed off, "I'm sorry to hear about what happened to your mother."

Connor gave the other man a quick nod, not trusting his voice. Connor slightly lifted the items in his hands, indicating that he needed to head back to Lexa's room.

* * *

Lexa glanced down at the clothes that were given to her. She had a teal plaid western shirt, Levi blue jeans, white ankle socks and a pair of tennis shoes. Her eyes lingered on the shirt, something about it stirred something deep within but wasn't sure what. She quickly slipped on her new clothes, they felt ten times better than the itchy hospital robes.

"HEEEEELLLLLLLLLP!" Someone screamed down the hallway, causing Lexa to jump.

"GET DOWN!" Another voice shouted, causing Lexa to freeze. It seemed like her nightmare from this morning was coming true.

**AN: Sorry for the cliffhanger! Also, Did you guys really think I'd get rid of Connor? Sorry if I scared anyone, just thought it would be fun to write. **


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